Dog park project needs property

By Molly Phipps

Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 11:34 AM.

A shaded property, two to five acres in size, with plenty of trees, situated on level ground—it may seem like an easy property to find, but for the committee in charge of finding a good location for a dog park in Shelby, it’s their biggest obstacle.

“We’re still stalled. We’re still trying to pick out the right property,” said Fred Harrill, an organizer on the committee and owner of Shelby business RollOver Pets. “It needs a minimum of two acres, so it can be divided for large dogs and small dogs. Five acres would be ideal for the total property including an area for parking.”

The idea for a dog park has been in the works for more than a year, since Harrill presented it to Shelby city council in March 2013.

Since then, members of the community continue to call and email The Star for updates on the project.

For a good dog park, Harrill said trees are very important, and at least two-thirds of the property would ideally be treed.

“An open field’s not good because nobody will go to it,” he said. “People in other towns have tried to get a place with no trees. Dogs don’t want to be there and people certainly don’t want to be there.”

A shaded property, two to five acres in size, with plenty of trees, situated on level ground—it may seem like an easy property to find, but for the committee in charge of finding a good location for a dog park in Shelby, it’s their biggest obstacle.

“We’re still stalled. We’re still trying to pick out the right property,” said Fred Harrill, an organizer on the committee and owner of Shelby business RollOver Pets. “It needs a minimum of two acres, so it can be divided for large dogs and small dogs. Five acres would be ideal for the total property including an area for parking.”

The idea for a dog park has been in the works for more than a year, since Harrill presented it to Shelby city council in March 2013.

Since then, members of the community continue to call and email The Star for updates on the project.

For a good dog park, Harrill said trees are very important, and at least two-thirds of the property would ideally be treed.

“An open field’s not good because nobody will go to it,” he said. “People in other towns have tried to get a place with no trees. Dogs don’t want to be there and people certainly don’t want to be there.”